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Map of the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak:

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The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019, which originated in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China, has led to increased prejudice, xenophobia, discrimination, violence, and racism against Chinese people and people of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent and appearance, particularly in Europe and Northern America. Some countries in Africa are also seeing rising anti-Asian sentiment.

On 30 January, the World Health Organization's Emergency Committee issued a statement advising all countries to be mindful of the "principles of Article 3 of the IHR (the International Health Regulations)," which the WHO says is a caution against "actions that promote stigma or discrimination," when conducting national response measures to the outbreak.

Incidents

Argentina

On 26 February 2020, an incident involving a fight was reported in La Plata between a Chinese supermarket owner and an Argentine delivery man. The fight was triggered because the delivery man jokingly said "¿Qué hacés, coronavirus?" ("What's up, coronavirus?"), making a joke about Chinese people and the coronavirus. Both men ended up injured and the police later had to intervene.

Australia

On 26 January 2020, two of Australia's highest circulating newspapers published provocative headlines. Melbourne's Herald Sun's headline read, "Chinese virus pandamonium", a misspelling of "pandemonium" and alluding to China's native pandas, while Sydney's Daily Telegraph's headline read, "China kids stay home." One of the outcomes of these headlines was a petition of over 51,000 signatures demanding an apology.

At a Woolworths supermarket in Port Hedland, Western Australia, a person reported an incident whereby a staff member removed and refused entry to customers who appeared to be of Asian descent, claiming it was to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. A witness to the incident made a complaint that was upheld by Woolworths who confirmed that the staff member had been in the wrong, apologised for the incident and said they were conducting a full investigation into the incident.

Ravenswood School for Girls, a private school on Sydney's North Shore asked a South Korean student to leave her dormitory – even though she had not been to China since visiting Shanghai in October 2019 and was medically cleared when she arrived at the school. Similarly, a Chinese-Malaysian student in Perth found herself evicted from her shared home upon returning to Australia after visiting her home country for Lunar New Year.

There has been a growing number of reports where members of the Chinese-Australian and Asian-Australian communities have been subjected to verbal vitriol and racist slurs, in addition to suggestions on social media to cull the Chinese race and "burn down" China to stop the epidemic.

Chinese restaurants and establishments in Sydney and Melbourne have seen a dramatic drop in business, with trade declining by over 70%.

On 28 January 2020, a man collapsed and died of a suspected cardiac arrest outside of a restaurant in Sydney's Chinatown. Unconfirmed viral videos circulating on social media suggest that bystanders refused to perform CPR out of fear of the novel coronavirus.

According to an online Ipsos MORI poll, 23% of Australian respondents would consider in the future avoiding people of Chinese origin to protect themselves from coronavirus.

Belgium

There have been reports by Asian people of increased racism in Belgium.

A woman was called "coronavirus", threatened, and spat on by five youths in Schaerbeek.

A photo depicted of high school students in Chinese costumes while holding a sign that said "Corona Time" was posted on the official Facebook and Instagram of Sint-Paulusschool Campus College Waregem, a secondary school. One of the students wore gloves and a mask while another student made a racist, slant-eye gesture. Photos were later removed due to online backlash.

In Brussels, a 22-year-old man punched a 24-year-old Asian man and accused him of being "the cause" of coronavirus in Belgium.

Bolivia

Local authorities quarantined three Japanese nationals despite them having no coronavirus-related symptoms.

Brazil

In Rio de Janeiro, a Japanese-Brazilian law student was called a "Chinese pig" and accused of spreading diseases.

Canada

John Tory, the Mayor of Toronto, denounced xenophobia toward Chinese Canadians in late January 2020, amid reports of increasing stigma facing that community.

On 26 January 2020, Peter Akman, a reporter who was with Canada's CTV News, tweeted an image of his Asian barber in mask and said, "Hopefully all I got today was a haircut." He was fired after the tweet was reported.

On 28 January 2020, 9,000 parents of a Toronto school district signed a petition "demanding students who had traveled to China in the last 17 days be prevented from attending school". A board that represents 208 schools in Toronto condemned the petition, saying that it is inciting racism and bias.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned racism against Chinese Canadians while attending a Lunar New Year festival in Toronto.

On 5 February 2020, the headline of the front page of The Province, a newspaper in British Columbia, read "2nd China Virus Case in B.C." Chinese consul general of China in Vancouver Tong Xiaoling demanded an apology from The Province, which she said "it is discriminatory and unprofessional". On 8 February, Harold Munro, editor-in-chief of The Vancouver Sun and The Province, said referring to the novel coronavirus as the "China virus" was a way to geographically locate the origin of the virus, not to discriminate.

Chinese-Canadian businesses in Vancouver have reported a drop in business ranging from 50 to 70 percent. In the Greater Toronto Area, Chinese restaurants have reported a drop in sales ranging from 30 to 80 percent.

Croatia

On 15 February 2020, during a Croatian Table Tennis Superleague match which was played in Dubrovnik between the local team Libertas Marinkolora and guest team STK Starr from Varaždin, a number of insulting comments were posted on the official Libertas Marinkolora Facebook page towards a Croatian player of Chinese origin, Tan Ruiwu of STK Starr which referenced the coronavirus. This included a comment by the manager of Libertas Marinkolor Marko Habijanec in which he instructed one of his players (who was facing Tan in the next match) to "Beat this virus." The comments were subsequently deleted. Libertas Marinkolor eventually issued an apology and condemnation of the incident.

Egypt

According to the Embassy of Japan in Cairo, store clerks have been hesitating to serve Japanese customers, and "corona" has also become a new slur with which to abuse Japanese people on the street.

Finland

Asians in Finland have reported instances of discrimination prompted by the novel coronavirus outbreak in China. Various people with backgrounds in China, Vietnam, and Japan told Yle that they have been subjected to racist treatment since news broke about the virus. On 23 February, Helsinki Times reported that at least one Chinese restaurant in Helsinki had seen a downturn in bookings since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. A Chinese supermarket reported a dramatic drop in people coming into the store but an uptick in online sales, with customers opting to have goods delivered to their homes.

France

French newspaper Le Courrier Picard featured an Asian woman wearing a mask on its front page on 26 January 2020 with a headline "Yellow Alert". The paper also titled an editorial "A New Yellow Peril". The publication drew condemnation from French Asians who started the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus (which translates to "I Am Not A Virus"). Other French newspapers called the Covid-19 as "Chinese Virus" at the beginning of the outbreak which could stigmatise people of Chinese descent. Numerous reports indicate a significant increase in harassment and violent attacks toward people of certain Asian origins. Some children of Asian descent were ostracised and mocked over their origins in middle schools near Paris.

Non-Western restaurants, including Chinese, Thai, Cambodian, and Japanese have reported a decline in customers. The scale of the decline typically ranged from 30 to 50 percent.

Many French-Vietnamese report also being subject to harassment since the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

South Korean media have reported an increased animosity toward South Korean nationals.

Japan's public service broadcaster NHK, which provides a list of overseas safety risks for traveling, recently listed anti-Japanese discrimination as a safety risk when traveling to France and other European countries. Some Japanese nationals have reported an increase in anti-Japanese incidents, such as being mocked on the street and refused taxi service, and least one Japanese restaurant has been vandalized. A Japanese actress working for the French company Louis Vuitton received a number of coronavirus-related comments on the company's Instagram page, which the company later deleted. A group of Japanese students on a study tour in Paris received abuse by locals.

Asians in Paris have reported an increase in racism and harassment.

Germany

The weekly magazine Der Spiegel has published a controversial cover which has been considered by some as blaming China for the outbreak and fueling xenophobia.

The Chinese Embassy in Berlin has acknowledged a rise in hostile cases against its citizens since the outbreak. On 1 February 2020, a 23-year old Chinese citizen in Berlin reportedly received racist insults and was subsequently beaten by two unknown assailants, in an incident classified by police as "xenophobic".

A Chinese student from Chengdu living in Berlin was given two weeks notice to leave her sublet apartment by her landlord, German actress Gabrielle Scharnitzky. Scharnitzky defended her actions, stating "I had to protect myself against a real possible danger of infection by a person returning from a virus-contaminated area, entering and leaving my home and thus endangering my health and the health of my visitors". The student reportedly informed Scharnitzky of her intentions to visit China in January; although the trip never took place, she was nevertheless evicted.

On 5 February 2020, a Chinese woman in Berlin, who hadn't visited China in 3 months, was reportedly turned away by her gynecologist, claiming that the coronavirus may infect the pregnant women in the clinic. In the same month, a Chinese student in Essen with a sore throat was denied an appointment by a general practitioner over coronavirus fears, despite not having been to China since September 2019. She was instead told to go the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with bronchitis.

German football club RB Leipzig denied entry to a group of 20 Japanese fans over coronavirus fears. In Nuremberg, locals threw raw eggs at homes owned by Japanese residents.

According to an Ipsos MORI poll, 28% of German respondents would consider in the future avoiding people of Chinese origin to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

Hong Kong

More than 100 restaurants in Hong Kong have turned away customers from mainland China, with one restaurant demanding that a customer produce a Hong Kong identity card to prove they were not from the mainland. Tenno Ramen, a Japanese noodle restaurant in Hung Hom, refused to serve mainland Chinese customers. The restaurant said on Facebook, "We want to live longer. We want to safeguard local customers. Please excuse us."

Hungary

Chinese-owned businesses, including those in the predominantly Asian Józsefváros Market in Budapest, have reported a significant drop in sales which owners have attributed to the coronavirus. Some businesses have opted to signal to potential customers that they are from another Asian country.

Indonesia

The Foreign Policy reported that "On social media, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram posts encourage people to stay away from places where Chinese citizens or Chinese-heritage Indonesians work and live. ... Major media outlets are also complicit in spreading anti-Chinese conspiracies."

A demonstration was staged outside a hotel in Bukittinggi, rejecting the visit of tourists from Southern China who stayed there amid fear of coronavirus. The demonstrators demanded that the tourists be isolated in an airport, and showed distrust over screening tools in airports. It ended after police guaranteed that the tourists would stay in the hotel up to the following day, when the tourists depart from the city.

In a press release, the embassy of Japan in Indonesia stated that incidents of discrimination and harassment toward Japanese people had increased, and announced they had set up a help center to assist Japanese residents dealing with these incidents. In general, there have been reports of widespread anti-Japanese discrimination and harassment in the country, with hotels, stores, restaurants, taxi services and more refusing Japanese customers, and many Japanese people were no longer allowed in meetings and conferences. The embassy of Japan has also received at least a dozen reports of harassment toward Japanese people in just a few days.

India

Indian Islamic cleric Ilyas Sharafuddin said in an audio address that the coronavirus outbreak was a "punishment of Allah on China for mistreating Uighur Muslims". Ilyas said that "they the Chinese have threatened the Muslims and tried to destroy lives of 20 million Muslims. Muslims were forced to drink alcohol, their mosques were destroyed and their Holy Book was burned. They thought that no one can challenge them, but Allah the most powerful punished them."

Students from Northeast India, which shares a border with Tibet, who study in major Indian cities have reportedly experienced harassment related to the coronavirus outbreak. For instance, Northeast Indian students in Kirori Mal College, Delhi, have filed a complaint to college authorities about harassment in the hands of other students. Eight students from Northeast India at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai also alleged that they were subjected to racism and harassment.

Israel

More than 1,000 South Korean tourists were instructed to avoid public places and remain in isolation in their hotels. The Israeli military also announced its intention to quarantine some 200 South Korean nationals to a military base. Many of the remaining South Koreans were rejected by hotels and were forced to spend nights at Ben Gurion Airport. An Israeli newspaper subsequently published a Korean complaint that "Israel is Treating [Korean and other Asian] Tourists Like Coronavirus". Public health expert Dr. Hagai Levine said that Israeli politicians may be overreaching to impress voters.

Italy

La Repubblica reported that the director of Rome's prestigious Santa Cecilia music conservatory, Roberto Giuliani, suspended lessons for all Asian students — Korean, Chinese, Japanese, with Koreans the largest group affected — due to the epidemic, though most of the students were second-generation immigrants.

According to The Washington Post, people especially from South Korea and China experienced increased mockery and discrimination.

It was posted on social media that a bar around the Trevi Fountain had a sign not allowing entrance to anyone from China because of "international safety measures". It was later removed by police.

Dozens of Chinese stores were vandalized in the northern towns of Como, Brescia, and Varese. Many Chinese stores also reported a decline in business.

People of Chinese and Filipino descents reported assaults (some serious enough to require hospitalization), harassment, and being refused services. Some public officials asked students of Asian origin to stay home.

On 24 February 2020, a Chinese man was barred from entering a gas station in Cassola in Vicenza, Veneto and was told "You have coronavirus, you cannot enter!" at which point somebody broke a bottle on his head causing severe injuries. The same day, an elderly Filipino pensioner was attacked and punched in a supermarket in the town of Mariano Comense, in Como, Lombardy. Singer and TV personality Francesco Facchinetti was seen intervening and defending the victim.

Veneto regoinal governor Luca Zaia apologized after claiming that the Chinese eat live mice.

On the 8th of March 2020, a Japanese restaurant in Rivoli, in Torino, Piedmont was the target of an arson attack by a group of teens who taunted the owners, calling them carriers of the epidemic.

Japan

In Japan, the hashtag #ChineseDontComeToJapan had been trending on Twitter; furthermore, also on Twitter, Japanese people have called Chinese tourists "dirty", "insensitive", and "bioterrorists".

A server at a restaurant in Ito, a Japanese city on the Izu peninsula south of Tokyo, was recorded shouting at a tourist "China! Out!" A Chinese woman, who was the target of the outburst, immediately left the restaurant.

A confectionery shop in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture put up an sign saying "No Chinese allowed!" prompting Chinese netizens to boycott the store.

According to an Ipsos MORI poll, 28% of Japanese respondents would consider avoiding people of Chinese origin.

Kazakhstan

In February 2020, a conflict broke out between ethnic Kazakhs and Chinese Muslims. According to The Diplomat, "In the hours following the incident, fake news about “ruthless pogroms in Kazakhstan around the spreading of coronavirus” circulated around social media, fueling hysteria in other parts of the country."

Malaysia

A petition in Malaysia calling for citizens from China to be banned from entering the country claimed that the "new virus is widely spread throughout the world because of their unhygienic lifestyle". The petition was reportedly signed by a little over 250,000 people within a week.

Netherlands

Dutch public broadcasting news network NOS has reported that on many of its Facebook and Instagram posts about the coronavirus, there have been a great number of "racist, discriminating and anti-Chinese comments." Dutch residents of Asian descent also report having been called out as carriers of the coronavirus during their commute, in the supermarket, in school, and on social media.

On 6 February 2020, radio DJ Lex Gaarthuis presented his Carnaval song Voorkomen is beter dan Chinezen (a pun on the proverb Voorkomen is beter dan genezen – "prevention is better than cure" – with Chinezen referring to both Chinese people and eating Chinese food) on national radio station Radio 10 under his alter ego Toon, which includes the lyrics "we can't have the virus in our country, it is all caused by these stinking Chinese people" and "don't eat Chinese food." After many complaints were issued against Radio 10 and Gaarthuis, primarily by the Chinese community in the Netherlands, both the station and artist made formal apologies (with Gaarthuis saying the song was meant to be satirical but had overshot its mark).

On 8 February, a group of Chinese students living in a student dormitory of Wageningen University discovered that their floor had been vandalised. Damages included a Chinese flag torn from a student's door and shredded, an elevator littered with feces and urine, and walls defaced with English language insults such as "DIE CHINESE" and "CHINESE CORONA". Dutch police investigated the incident, but no suspects have been identified.

On 10 February, a 65-year-old Dutch man of Chinese descent was kicked off his bicycle by two young men on a scooter. One of the culprits filmed the incident and uploaded it to his Snapchat story. He later downplayed criticism saying "don't you worry guys, it was a Chinese man" and only felt forced to turn himself in to police after becoming the target of widespread Internet vigilantism.

On a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Seoul on 11 February, flight attendants put up a sign in Korean discouraging passengers from using a restroom on the plane allegedly reserved for the flight crew, apparently out of fear of the coronavirus. A spokesman for the airline has since issued an apology, stating "we are deeply sorry that this was viewed as discrimination, which was absolutely not the intention of the crew” and that it is not company policy to reserve specific lavatories for flight crew.

On the evening of 22 February, a 24-year-old Dutch student of Chinese descent was assaulted by a group of students in her dormitory in Tilburg, suffering a concussion and knife wounds, after she asked them to stop singing Gaarthuis' Carnaval song.

New Zealand

MP Raymond Huo noted that there were racial abuse incidents in the country's Chinese community. An online petition to prevent people from China from entering the country was signed by more than 18,000 people. In Canterbury, an email was sent to a Chinese-origin student's parent, which reportedly said, "our Kiwi kids don't want to be in the same class with your disgusting virus spreaders."

Mayor of Auckland Phil Goff stated that he was "sickened" by the reports of Asian-origin people being racially targeted at swimming pools, public transport, and restaurants.

Palestine

On March 1, 2020, a Palestinian mother with her daughter chanted "Corona, corona" to the two Japanese women who were in Ramallah for non-governmental aid mission. The mother then attacked and pulled hair of one of the Japanese women who attempted to record the incident. The Palestinian woman was later arrested that day. Ramallah Governor Leila Ghannam invited the two Japanese women to thank them for their relief efforts as well as a senior police officer gave flowers during a visit to the non-governmental organization's office.

Philippines

Various Filipino-Chinese advocacy groups have warned that racism against the Chinese community has risen after the outbreak has started. The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc and the Trade Union of Congress of the Philippines have condemned anti-Chinese propaganda with links to the virus. Adamson University, a prominent Catholic school in Manila, received online backlash for ordering all its Chinese students to quarantine themselves amid the new coronavirus outbreak.

President Rodrigo Duterte has made appeals to the public to stop discriminating against anyone who has Chinese ancestry.

Russia

In Moscow and Yekaterinburg, Chinese nationals are targeted by quarantine enforcing campaigns, as well as police raids, which were condemned as racial profiling.

In Blagoveshchensk, at least one hotel has barred Chinese nationals from booking rooms, and markets operated by people of Chinese origin have seen their sales plummeting.

According to an Ipsos MORI poll, 37% of Russian respondents would consider avoiding people of Chinese origin, the highest among the countries surveyed.

Singapore

An online petition urging the Singaporean government to ban Chinese nationals and travellers from China from entering the island country was signed by 125,000 people.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered an investigation against an Islamic teacher, Abdul Halim bin Abdul Karim, after he had posted on Facebook that the coronavirus outbreak was "a retribution by Allah against the Chinese for their oppressive treatment of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang." In a separate post, Abdul Halim claimed that Chinese people do not wash properly after defecating and were not as hygienic as Muslims, causing the virus to spread. Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam slammed the comments as "silly", "xenophobic" and "thoroughly racist" and is "quite unacceptable from anyone, let alone someone who is supposed to be a religious teacher." The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore said it is aware of the post, which "expresses views that do not represent the Muslim community" and was investigating the matter. In response, Abdul Halim said that his Facebook post written in Malay, was not intended to be racist and didn't target "any particular race".

South Korea

An entrance to a South Korean restaurant in downtown Seoul has a sign in red Chinese characters that reads "No Chinese Allowed".

More than 760,000 South Korean citizens have signed a petition lobbying the government to ban Chinese tourists from entering the country. The Daegu Lantern Festival posted a notice in English that no foreigners are allowed to visit their festival.

Sri Lanka

A group of Singaporean tourists were apparently denied permission to climb the tourist attraction Ella Rock due to their appearance.

Thailand

A restaurant in Chiang Mai displayed a sign which read, "We apologize we are not accepting CHINESE customers. Thank you." after a customer left the restaurant upon noticing a group of Chinese people inside. The police demanded that the sign be taken down, but suggested that it could be rewritten in Chinese as "We ran out of food". A similar sign was also seen outside a restaurant in Ao Sane Beach in Phuket.

Graffiti artist Headache Stencil reportedly tweeted, "Hey Chink! Please go back to ur shit-eating country. Our government need ur money to keep their power but you all not welcome for us now. #notwelcometothailand #backtourchinklandpls".

Ukraine

On 20 February 2020, 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreign nationals evacuated from Wuhan to Novi Sanzhary were met by a mob lighting bonfires and hurling stones.

United Kingdom

Chinese people in the UK say they are facing increasing levels of racist abuse.

Chinese businesses in the United Kingdom, including the busy Chinese takeaway segment and businesses in Chinatown, London recorded significantly reduced customers in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak compared to usual elevated sales related to Chinese New Year celebrations, due to fears of coronavirus spreading through food or unhygienic working practices. In London, a student of the Royal Holloway University was verbally abused by train passengers at Clapham Junction station, while a similar incident was reported by passengers on the London Underground.

On 30 January 2020, a postgraduate student walking alone while wearing a face mask on West Street in Sheffield city centre, towards the University of Sheffield, was verbally abused and nudged by three people.

Tottenham Hotspur footballer Dele Alli posted a video on Snapchat where he wore a face mask and appeared to mock an Asian man seated near him in Dubai about the coronavirus outbreak. He later apologized and deleted the video.

A 24-year old Thai tax consultant in London was violently assaulted and robbed by two teenagers yelling "coronavirus" at the man.

In Solihull, a Chinese-origin woman was allegedly called "a dirty Chink" and told "Take your fucking coronavirus back home!". An Indian-origin woman who tried to intervene was beaten up and later hospitalised.

On 2 March 2020, a Singaporean Chinese student studying at University College London was beaten up when walking past a group of young people who shouted "I don't want your coronavirus in my country" to him in Oxford Street, London. He suffered fractures on his face and bruises on his eye. The Metropolitan Police in London are currently investigating on this assault.

On 5 March 2020, an Uber driver in London refused to serve a group of Italian passengers because he was "worried about his health safety". The driver admitted to refusing service due to the group's nationality, despite one member informing him that they had not been in Italy since September.

A Vietnamese art curator was dropped as an assistant for an exhibit of contemporary Vietnamese fine art at the Affordable Art Fair. The dealer in charge of the exhibit explained in an email that she could no longer participate because "Asians are being seen as carriers of the virus" and that the presence of a Vietnamese curator "would unfortunately create hesitation on the part of the audience to enter the exhibition space."

United States

In an infographic on common reactions to the novel coronavirus epidemic posted by University Health Services at the University of California, Berkeley, the school advised that "Xenophobia: fears about interacting with those who might be from Asia and guilt about these feelings" is normal.

A Thai-American woman on a New York City subway captured footage of a man screaming racist comments and explicits about coronavirus. In a separate incident also in a New York City subway, another woman wearing a face mask was punched and kicked by a man who called her "diseased". Numerous other incidences of harassment of Asians on the New York City subway followed including one where a person was seen spraying an Asian man with an unknown substance. On 10 March 2020, a woman was confronted on the subway by somebody yelling "Where is your corona mask you Asian b—h," before punching the woman dislocating her jaw.

Chinatown in Houston faced a drop in customers after people falsely and maliciously spread rumors online of an outbreak of the coronavirus. Restaurants in Chinatown in Boston have also lost customers due to fears of coronavirus. The government of New York City cited a report which estimated a 40 percent sales drop for Chinese businesses in Flushing, Queens, while other reports suggested the drop ranged from 30 to 80 percent.

On 13 February 2020, Los Angeles authorities spoke out against a number of bullying incidents and assaults towards the Asian-American community, including a middle schooler being beaten and hospitalized. A 16-year-old boy in San Fernando Valley was also physically attacked by bullies in his high school who accused him of having the coronavirus because he is Asian American. Robin Toma of the L.A. County Human Relations Commission stated: "Many may be quick to assume that just because someone is Asian or from China that somehow they are more likely to be carriers of the virus. We need to speak out against this when we see it. We need to speak up, not be bystanders, be upstanders."

Fake World Health Organization (WHO) flyers in Los Angeles advised people to avoid Asian-American restaurants.

A petition urging schools in Alhambra, an Asian American-dominant city, to close over coronavirus risks was signed by over 14,000 people.

Two Hmong men were rejected from two hotels in Indiana due to being perceived to have the coronavirus by the hotel staff.

40,000 people signed a petition to expel two students from Bolsa Grande High School after two high school students were seen in videos bullying Vietnamese-American students. A 16-year-old boy in San Fernando Valley was also physically attacked by bullies in his high school who accused him of having the coronavirus because he is Asian American. Robin Toma of the L.A. County Human Relations Commission stated: "Many may be quick to assume that just because someone is Asian or from China that somehow they are more likely to be carriers of the virus. We need to speak out against this when we see it. We need to speak up, not be bystanders, be upstanders."

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang spoke of an uptick in anti-Asian racism surrounding the coronavirus. Several lawmakers including multiple members of Congress denounced xenophobia related to the coronavirus in a press conference, and said that Asian-American businesses across the country, from grocery stores to nail salons and restaurants, had been forced into financial crises due to a reduction in customers.

In Brooklyn, NY, a social media post was sent from the office of New York State Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus urging citizens to avoid Chinese businesses. Frontus apologized for the message blaming the incident on a part-time office assistant sharing a chain email; the staff worker was fired, and the rest of the staff ordered to complete cultural sensitivity training. The apology by the Assemblymember then triggered a Brooklyn Community Board 13 member to post a xenophobic anti-Chinese rant on social media expressing dismay that the Assemblymember had to make an apology. That community board member was given notice by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams that his reappointment to the community board would not be renewed.

Vietnam

The Asia Times reported that "A number of Vietnamese hotels and guesthouses have reportedly hung signs on their doors saying that Chinese guests are not welcome, while many Vietnamese have gone online to demand the closure of all border crossings with China." Signs suggesting that Chinese customers are not accepted were seen in front of a shop in Phu Quoc and a restaurant in Da Nang.

Public efforts against xenophobia and racism during coronavirus

While xenophobia and racism toward East Asians and some Southeast Asian groups have been on the rise during the coronavirus outbreak, there have been public voices and efforts against such trends to record, critique, or change the stereotypes.

In response to the heightened outbreak of the virus in Italy, which caused the Chinese community to shut down businesses due to racist attacks, President Sergio Mattarella made a surprise visit to a primary school in Rome on 6 February, of which nearly half of pupils are Chinese in origin as a show of support and solidarity, saying "Friendship and peace are fundamental and you know it."

A petition entitled We zijn geen virussen! (We are not viruses!) was started on 8 February in the Netherlands in protest of racism against Dutch Chinese and others of Asian descent, which garnered over 13,600 signatures on its first day and was signed over 57,600 times at the end of the month.

On 27 February, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for solidarity with people of ethnic Asian origin subject to such discrimination.

See also

• Anti-Chinese sentiment
• Cyber racism
• Yellow Peril
• Anti-Filipino sentiment
• Anti-Japanese sentiment
• Anti-Korean sentiment
• Anti-Thai sentiment
• Anti-Vietnamese sentiment